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Chitra Soundar is an Indian-born British writer and storyteller. She grew up surrounded by the myths and stories of India and is inspired by its diverse culture and natural beauty. Chitra has over 30 books in print worldwide and regularly goes into schools to tell stories and conduct workshops. Her book You're Safe With Me (with illustrator Poonam Mistry) was shortlisted for the 2019 CILIP Kate Greenway Medal.
Book Band: Grey (Ideal for ages 8+) | An exciting detective story from Chitra Soundar, author of over 50 children's books in the UK, India and the US. Sindhu and Jeet are the best detectives in town: they solve all their cases with a dollop of observation, a dash of imagination and a whole load of legwork. And when they travel from India to England for a holiday, the detective work doesn't stop! This page-turning story is accompanied by black-and-white illustrations by Amberin Huq.
Book Band: Gold Ideal for ages 6+ | An amusing book about a bored little girl called Manju and a rather unsuccessful genie with a cold. This is a fun story with confusion created by the genie’s mishearing of wishes and the somewhat unusual outcomes. The humour of this is quite sophisticated, but the story can still be enjoyed, even if the humour needs to be explained, such as the genie’s mishearing of milk for silk. Although this is a fun story, the theme of kindness towards the genie and the elderly Mrs Cumin, was a nice touch and a good point for discussion. The book is written in chapters which young children love as they feel they are reading ‘real books’ and as with all books in a range, I feel it is essential that the stories are not patronising. The books should be written for the reader’s ability and not the reader’s chronological age.
Book Band: Purple Ideal for ages 6+ | Short, but action-packed, Chitra Soundar’s story has all the ingredients to make a tasty, satisfying story. There’s a magic lamp, seven wishes and a genie, and it all culminates with a delicious birthday cake. Manju and her cat Cumin are puzzling about what to give Manju’s mum for her birthday when they discover a magic lamp. A genie grants them seven wishes – surely they can conjure up the perfect present now, but it proves harder than they think and takes all seven wishes to get a gift that’s just right. In the new Bloomsbury Young Readers series this is a fun, accessible story perfect for children just getting ready to read on their own. A Tips for Grown Ups section and suggestions of fun further activities are helpful, an added bonus.
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2020 | As winter approaches, a polar bear snuggles inside the den she has made in the snowdrifts of the frozen north and waits for her cubs to be born. When they arrive they are curious about the world beyond their cosy home. As they learn about the secrets of the world Mama Bear constantly reassures them “You’re Snug with Me”.
Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 | A wonderfully lyrical call and response text and an intricate, beautifully detailed and different illustrative style combine to great effect in this reassuring tale.
This story is part of Reading Champion, a series carefully linked to book bands to encourage independent reading skills, developed with Dr Sue Bodman and Glen Franklin of UCL Institute of Education (IOE) Reading Champion offers independent reading books for children to practise and reinforce their developing reading skills. Fantastic, original stories are accompanied by engaging artwork and a reading activity. Each book has been carefully graded so that it can be matched to a child's reading ability, encouraging reading for pleasure.
In this traditional tale from India, the mice and the elephants discover that size is no barrier to friendship after one of the elephants falls into a hunter's trap... This story is part of Reading Champion, a series carefully linked to book bands to encourage independent reading skills, developed with Dr Sue Bodman and Glen Franklin of UCL Institute of Education (IOE) Reading Champion offers independent reading books for children to practise and reinforce their developing reading skills. Fantastic, original stories are accompanied by engaging artwork and a reading activity. Each book has been carefully graded so that it can be matched to a child's reading ability, encouraging reading for pleasure.Perfect for readers aged 5-7 or those reading at book band purple.
We all celebrate birthdays and friendships, the onset of seasons, religious events and national holidays. Our celebrations are full of colour, specially prepared food and good cheer. We All Celebrate introduces some less mentioned celebrations from around the world to children, among those that are well known and bring good memories.
Far away, across the deep seas and the tall mountains, there is a little kingdom called Samanpur. In the kingdom there lived a prince called Prabir and a poor boy called Arup. Prince Prabir had everything a boy could want, and yet he was unhappy. But then Arup hears of the queen's competition to cheer up the unhappy prince, and the big reward that comes with it! But how will he come up with something to impress a royal prince? All he has is a broken kite and a mouse from a wise man... A Kite for a Prince is part of the Astro range from Rising Stars Reading Planet. Astro books are ideal for struggling and reluctant readers aged 7-11. Each book is dual-banded so that children can improve their fluency whilst enjoying exciting fiction and non-fiction relevant to their age. Astro books for Earth/White band are also highly-decodable so ideal for extra phonics practice. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and questions to support reading at home and develop comprehension skills. Interest age: 8-9 Reading age: 6-7 years
Book Band: Grey (Ideal for ages 8+) | An exciting detective story from Chitra Soundar, author of over 50 children's books in the UK, India and the US. Sindhu and Jeet are the best detectives in town: they solve all their cases with a dollop of observation, a dash of imagination and a whole load of legwork. And when they travel from India to England for a holiday, the detective work doesn't stop! This page-turning story is accompanied by black-and-white illustrations by Amberin Huq.
In these four interlinked stories about Nikhil and Jay and their family, there's always fun and mischief. Jay wants to do things by himself on his birthday, but sharing with Nikhil turns out to be more fun. They all go to visit Grandad and Nana, but where is the story dragon? Then it's Pancake Day, the day when Amma makes yummy dosa, Indian pancakes. And last but not least, Nikhil and Jay help to lead a campaign to save their local library from closing. The Nikhil and Jay stories are perfect for children moving on from picture books to longer stories, helped by Soofiya's lively and characterful illustrations.
Sona Sharma combats climate change. When Sona learns about the climate crisis at school and is very worried that no one is doing enough to combat it, she takes up the challenge herself. But Appa isn't amused when Sona throws out her baby sister's nappies and Thatha isn't happy when she tells him to get rid of his colour-coded plastic files. When Sona learns that many of the kolams - the traditional art that people draw in front of their homes to celebrate the winter months and the festival season - are not organic, she sets out to make some big changes by getting everyone involved.
In these four interlinked stories about Nikhil and Jay and their family, there's always fun and mischief. Grandad and Granny come to visit from India and show the boys that the best way to eat mangoes is in the bath! There's a Star Birthday for Nikhil, with a special Indian Feast. Another day the family all go for a banana picnic in the park. Everyone is sad when it's time for Granny and Grandad to go back to India, but Nikhil and Jay promise to send letters and pictures. The Nikhil and Jay stories are perfect for children moving on from picture books to longer stories, helped by Soofiya's lively and characterful illustrations.
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